Sunday, the Gravity of Gratitude

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But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful . . . (2 Timothy 3:1–2)

Notice how ingratitude goes with pride, abuse, and insubordination.

In another place Paul says, “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking . . . but instead let there be thanksgiving” (Ephesians 5:4). So, it seems that gratitude, thankfulness, is the opposite of ugliness and violence.

The reason this is so is that the feeling of gratitude is a humble feeling, not a proud one. It is other-exalting, not self-exalting. And it is glad-hearted, not angry or bitter. Bitter thankfulness is a contradiction in terms.

The key to unlocking a heart of thankfulness and overcoming bitterness and ugliness and disrespect and violence is a strong belief in God, the Creator and Sustainer and Provider and Hope-giver. If we do not believe we are deeply indebted to God for all we have and hope to have, then the very spring of gratitude has gone dry.

So, I conclude that the rise of violence and sacrilege and ugliness and insubordination in the last times is a God-issue. The basic issue is a failure to feel gratitude at the upper levels of our dependence.

When the high spring of gratitude to God fails at the top of the mountain, soon all the pools of thankfulness begin to dry up further down the mountain. And when gratitude goes, the sovereignty of the self condones more and more corruption for its pleasure.

Pray for a great awakening of humble gratitude.

In a World of Competing, Never-Ending, Addictive Spectacles, What Will Take Our Attention From the Universe's Greatest Cosmic Spectacle of Christ @ Desiring God

 

AWASH IN AN ATTENTION ECONOMY

TONY REINKE GIVES A SPECTACULAR TALK ON MEDIA SATURATION IN AN AGE of competing, addictive worldly spectacles coming at us at warp speed from every direction at every moment. Smart phones are a virtual sugar bolt.  He reminds us of the only spectacle that stands the test of time, the cosmic spectacle of the birth, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, for  our sins and our salvation.

Veterans Day Belated, A Great Movie Clip of Sgt. Alvin York

ALVIN YORK, from Fentress County, Tennessee was one of the great heros of World War 1. Here is a movie clip of his incredible, courageous wartime feat against the Germans. WOW! If you haven't already, do watch the entire movie on YouTube. Well worth every minute. By the way, he would have been considered a deplorable hick by today's super liberal Democratic standards. They would once again be wrong.

Sports Journalist Jason Whitlock Speaks For Many of Us

UPDATE WITH WHITLOCK ON TUCKER

 

 

YOU'VE SEEN HIM ON TUCKER CARLSON, and now here. Jason Whitlock is at Outkick.com. He speaks volumes for me. 

From Whitlock:

The stakes of this messy and manipulated presidential election seem even more enormous than the pre-election hype that framed Trump vs. Biden as an American civil war fault line.

The 2020 election is playing out as a parable regarding the power of two sworn enemies — love and hate.

President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joseph Biden are not the stars or antagonists in this tale. Their supporters are. 

A blind unconditional love of their leader fuels the energy and action of Trump supporters. They risk their health (maskless rallies), reputation (accusations of racism and sexism) and safety (social media and Antifa harassment) to stand with their hero. 

A blind unconditional hatred of President Trump fuels the energy and action of Biden supporters. Their leader’s ideas, policies and resume are irrelevant. Biden is a tool to kill the Trump presidency. Nothing more.

I am not arguing that unconditional love of Trump is proper or healthy. I’m arguing that Trump and Biden supporters are tapping into two distinct energy sources. 

As a Christian, I’ve never questioned the unmatched power of love. It is a strength more potent than hate. 

Is that true in today’s American society, a culture stripped of its Christian identity and beliefs? In a secular world is hate more powerful than love?

Maybe I’m making too much of what this election represents, but I don’t think I am. I see the power of Trump hate within my own family and circle of friends. Trump hate is a requirement, a dividing issue. Trump hate is a more defining characteristic than love of God. 

This is the price of politics becoming America’s religion. An expression of Godly love pales in comparison to an expression of Trump hate. Political alignment trumps religious alignment. 

God is the embodiment of love. When a society deemphasizes God, it emphasizes the power and allure of hate and places man on a pedestal reserved for God. Man becomes all powerful. He judges the accused sinner more harshly than the sin.

The belief driving the election is that galvanizing Trump hate will save America. Hate believes problems are solved by external factors. Love believes problems are solved by internal factors.

If we combat the sin within each of us, unrepentant sinners don’t rise to power. Hating the sin is far more cleansing and effective than hating the sinner. The religion of political hate doesn’t teach that. We no longer teach the principles that made America the envy of the world. 

America used to be the embodiment of freedom and ideas.  

That also seems to be at stake today as we await the election results in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan. 

Hate renders ideas and principles useless. Biden is on the precipice of ascending to the highest power in the land, and I’m not sure if any of us know what he actually stands for beyond being the anti-Trump. This morning I Googled his campaign slogan. I did not know it. 

Our Best Days Still Lie Ahead  

That’s not quite Tippecanoe and Tyler Too, the 1840 campaign song of the Whig party that popularized presidential campaign slogans and lifted William Henry Harrison and John Tyler to the White House. 

It’s not Franklin Roosevelt’s Happy Days Are Here Again or John Kennedy’s A Time For Greatness 1960 or Barack Obama’s Change We Can Believe In or Trump’s reuse of Ronald Reagan’s Make America Great Again.

Perhaps Joe Biden is our modern day George Washington. America’s father never wanted to be president. He never campaigned. He considered rejecting his election to the presidency because he preferred retirement and life on his farm. 

We have no idea what Joe Biden plans to do as president or what he actually stands for. He epitomizes the malleability of modern politics. 

Ideas inspire love. Obama promised to revolutionize our health care system. His supporters loved it. Trump promised to prioritize American interest above all else, stand up to China, build a wall along the Mexican border. His supporters love it. 

Biden’s primary promise is he won’t behave like Trump. People who hate Trump love it. 

The power of Love vs. the power of Hate is at stake in this election. Will America elect a candidate no one loves? When the candidate was Hillary Clinton, the answer was no. 

That might explain why a number of states legalized mail-in ballots. It might explain why FOX News called Arizona for Biden long before it declared Trump the winner in Texas and Florida. It could also explain why the counting process in Michigan and Wisconsin reminds me of season 2 of the Netflix show “Narcos Mexico,” which explores a drug kingpin’s manipulation of the country’s 1988 general election.

A reliance on hate and an absence of love inevitably spark widespread corruption.

This is my problem with The Resistance, Black Lives Matter, Antifa, the far Left and their pervasive anti-American sentiment. There’s no love. It’s all hate. 

Hate cannot sustain life, liberty, freedom and a pursuit of happiness. 

As much as President Trump’s public behavior and narcissism annoy me, I’ve never questioned his love of America. 

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A Mighty Prayer for Election Day And Beyond---Keep Praying

 

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers.

Ephesians 6